In record-breaking heat--killing record quantities of salmon in rivers around the Northwest--people came out to cheer on and join in the historic blockade. The visuals were striking: Hanging on ropes and connected to one other beneath the St. John's Bridge like human-sized cocoons were 13 Greenpeace activists, their orange and yellow streamers waving in the hot breeze. In the Willamette River arrayed beneath the climbers, were a handful of "kayaktivists," local Portland activists in brightly colored kayaks. Inspired by similar waterborne activism in protest against Shell's Arctic drilling in Seattle, all intended to blockade the ship. And for two sleep-deprived days, they succeeded.

The final minutes were filled with drama: As the Fennica approached, police cut the ropes connecting the Greenpeace activists hanging from the bridge. Kayakers paddled toward the icebreaker and continued to impede its path. Despite the risks, kayaktivists and Greenpeace climbers stood their ground, while over 500 people gathered on the shore, chanting, "Stop that boat!" In a scene reminiscent of the lone Tiananmen Square protestor who stood before a rolling tank, the Fennica did indeed stop as kayaks flooded its path. But with kayakers detained by the Coast Guard, the ship eventually passed through the blockade.

Fortunately, this blockade is not unique: This is one of many courageous blockades that have taken place around the Pacific Northwest--on rail lines, roads, and in forests and treetops--all of which are part of a collective, spontaneous uprising against climate change and the decimation of the Northwest's green forests, its fisheries, and its leadership on environmental issues. Termed "Blockadia" by writer Naomi Klein, the people of the Pacific Northwest are acting as a choke point between massive deposits of oil, gas, coal and tar sands to our east and north and Asian markets. As Sightline Institute has calculated, "coal, oil and gas shipments from the Pacific Northwest would carry as much carbon content annually as five Keystone XL pipelines."

With the exception of a few elected leaders, most notably Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, most seem to be more beholden to the fossil fuel industry than the people that got them there. If they won't respond to this planetary emergency, we will. With our bodies on the line, we hope to inspire a "human tipping point" that stops a climate tipping point that will be unstoppable. Join us.